Seat buckle



g- 31, 1965 D. HOPPENSTAND 3,203,065

SEAT BUCKLE Filed Sept. 12, 1963 I'll/IAVIIIAZLIEIIIIIIIII Q INVENTOR.

DAVID HOPPENSTAND BY%IOLA46 his ATTORNEY United States. Patent 3,203,065SEAT BUCKLE David Hoppenstand, Miami Beach, Fla., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Charles E. Zimmerman, Kenmore, N.Y.

Filed Sept. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 308,478 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-230) Thisinvention relates to a clasp or fastener for belts such as aircraft orautomobile safety belts. It is more particularly concerned with a claspthat can be readily released by the person wearing the belt even underunfavorable conditions.

Safety belts have been in use for many years in aircraft and in recentyears in automobiles. These belts, which are usually of a wovenmaterial, are commonly fastened together by passing one end through orinto a clasp which is opened by moving a pivoted lever away from thewearer. This movement disengages the clasp from the end of the webbingwhich can then be drawn out. It sometimes happens that an accident to avehicle will leave the wearer of the safety belt uninjured or relativelyso, but under the necessity of getting out of his belt quickly. This isespecially true where fire breaks out after a crash. If a portion of thevehicle is jammed by the crash against the belt clasp, the wearer maynot be able to release it. Or if the wearer is in such a position thathe cannot place his hand on the clasp, he may likewise be unable torelease it. Under these conditions the conventional safety belt becomesa trap.

It is an object of my invention to provide a quick release clasp for asafety belt or the like which requires no clearance at all for itsrelease. It is another object to provide such a clasp which can bereadily released without the use of a hand. It is another object toprovide such a clasp which can be released by a movement of the body.Other objects of my invention will appear in the course of thedescription thereof which follows.

An embodiment of my invention presently preferred by me is illustratedin the attached figures to which reference is now made.

FIGURE 1 is a plan of the ends of a seat belt connected by the clasp ofmy invention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation of the article of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan of the separated tongue and housing portions of mydevice, the housing portion being a partly broken horizontal crosssection taken on plane 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an elevation in section of the device of FIGURE 3 taken onthe plane 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is an end elevation of the housing portion of my clasp showingthe opening for the tongue.

Belt end 1 is attached to a stiff fiat tongue 2 which is preferably madeof metal. Belt end 3 is attached to a housing 4 which receives andengages housing 2. The unengaged end 5 of tongue 2 is provided with atransverse opening or slot 6. A flat plate 7 also provided with atransverse opening or slot 8 is positioned on end 5 and held there bypin 9 which passes through a slot 10 in tongue 2. Slot 10 is elongatedlengthwise of tongue 2 so that plate 7 can slide lengthwise of tongue 2a limited amount. Belt end 1 is looped up through slot 6 and slot 8,over one leg of plate 7 and down through slot 6 again so as to attach itto tongue 2. This way of adjustably attaching a belt to a fasteningelement is conventional.

Tongue 2 at its other end is formed with a central longitudinal slot 12and a pair of holes 1313 positioned one on each side of slot 12. Holes1313 are D shaped with their flat sides facing end 5 of tongue 2.

Housing 4 has a face or upper surface 15 and a back or lower surface 16parallel thereto and spaced therefrom 3,203,065 Patented Aug. 31, 1965'ice 1 by side pieces 1717. The end 18 of housing 4 which receivestongue 2 is open, as is the opposite end to which belt end 3 is attachedby transverse pin 19. A ledge 18a is positioned adjacent the inside ofeach side piece 17 stopping short of face 15 to form a channel 20. Thechannels 2020 provide a guideway for tongue 2 in housing 4. A pin 21passes through a clearance hole in the center of face 15 and carries onits outside end a button 22. The inner end of pin 21 is attached to aflat cross piece 23 having projections 2424 at each end which fit intoslots 25-25 in each side piece 17. The slots 2525 are elongatedcrosswise of side pieces 17-17 and act as guides for projections 24--24so as to permit cross piece 23 to move toward and away from face 15. Itis not necessary that slots 2525 extend all the way through side pieces17--17. Compression springs 2727 are positioned between cross piece 23and back 16 of housing 4, one on each side of pin 21, and urge crosspiece 23 toward face 15. Cross piece 23 is also provided withprojections 2828 which project toward face 15, one on each side of pin21. Projections 2828 are aligned with holes 13-13 in tongue 2 whentongue 2 is in the guideway formed by channels 2020. The upper surface29 of each projection 28 is inclined toward face 15 and toward pin end19 of housing 4 as in a conventional spring latch.

The operation of my clasp will be described with reference to theforegoing description and figures, particularly FIGURE 4. The properlength of belt is obtained by pulling end 1 through slot 6 and end 5 andover the leg of plate 7. Movement of tongue 2 to the right in thefigures with respect to belt end 1 locks that end in the usual fashion.Belt ends 1 and 3 are fastened together by inserting tongue 2 into theguideway in housing 4 defined by channels 2020. The central slot 12 inthe end of tongue 2 clears pin 21 and the outer ends on each side ofslot 12 depress projections 2828 and cross piece 23, compressing springs2727. When holes 13- 13 come into registration with projections 2828,the latter are urged by springs 2727 upwardly into those holes, lockingthe clasp.

My clasp is released by pressing button 22 toward housing 4. Thispressure on pin 21 carries cross piece 23 downwardly, compressingsprings 2727 and withdrawing projections 2828 carried by cross piece 23from holes 13-13. It is not necessary that holes 1313 extend all the waythrough the thickness of tongue 2. The holes may be replaced bydepressions in the underside of 'gcgngtg; 2 of depth suflicient to lockwith projections Button 22 can be pressed by the hand of the wearer orby movement of his body against some fixed surface. My clasp can,therefore, be released under conditions which would prevent the releaseof a conventional safety belt fastener.

I claim:

A quick-release clasp for a belt comprising a stiff tongue and a housinginto which the tongue is inserted, the housing comprising a face, aback, and parallel sides, a channel open at one end positionedintermediate the face and the back to receive the tongue, a .pinextending on both sides of the face through a clearance hole therein, abutton on the outside end of the pin, a cross piece fixed to the insideend of the pin extending on opposite sides thereof parallel to the faceand movable to a position below the channel, means urging the crosspiece toward the face, cooperating means carried by the cross piece andthe sides maintaining the cross piece parallel to the face, a projectionon each side of the cross piece extending toward the face, a centralslot in the tongue dimensioned to clear the pin and two depressions inits undersurface References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTSPurcell 24-181 Toyama 24-2301 Schwerd 24-206 Davis 24-230.1

4 2,803,864 8/57 Bishaf 24-2301 2,896,284 7/59 Bishaf 24-2301 2,954,63410/60 Peschong 24-2301 2,995,792 8/61 Morton 24-2301 FOREIGN PATENTS571,760 5/24 France. 218,779 7/24 Great Britain.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

